Related Stories

If you're eagerly looking out your window every morning hoping the snow is gone and spring is here, you'll be looking in vain for at least another month, the chief meteorologist at the Weather Network says.

Winter is going to keep its icy grip on much of Canada through March in a "sluggish and slow start to spring," Chris Scott said.

But then, we should see a "dramatic turnaround" and start savouring warmer temperatures.

"There will be a real spring into the season," Scott said. "All of a sudden, you'll snap your fingers and spring will come on like gangbusters."

It's not the spring outlook most Canadians were hoping for after one of the coldest winters on record in the past 20 years, Scott admitted, but it's not all bad. The long winter has been good for winter enthusiasts, such as skiers and snowmobilers, in most of the country.

He said it is too soon to tell if the quick warm-up will cause flooding problems for areas where lots of snow has fallen, but never got a chance to melt -- places such as Stephenville, N.L., where there is 209 cm of snow on the ground.

He said that will depend on what the day and night temperatures are like -- if it's warm days but cold nights, the snow will melt slower.

It will also depend on how much rain falls, which is expected to be more than normal in some parts of the east coast.